Pedroia hits 3 HRs as Red Sox slug past Rockies
Baseball Betting Lines
06/25/2010 - Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dustin Pedroia homered three times, including a two-run blast in the top of the 10th inning, and drove in five runs overall, as the Boston Red Sox avoided a sweep and outslugged the Colorado Rockies, 13-11, at Coors Field.
Pedroia finished 5-for-5 with a walk and four runs scored for the Red Sox, who entered this three-game set having won six straight.
The 2008 American League MVP, Pedroia clubbed a two-run homer off reliever Rafael Betancourt to give the Red Sox an 11-8 lead in the top of the eighth, but the Rockies got a run in the bottom half on a pinch-hit single from Jason Giambi, who hit the walk-off home run against Boston closer Jonathan Papelbon on Wednesday.
Papelbon (3-4) came on again to protect a lead in the ninth, but Todd Helton lined a one-out single off the right-field wall. Carlos Gonzalez followed with a base hit to put men on the corners and pilfered second. Brad Hawpe then sliced a single down the left-field line to tie the game. It was the second straight blown save for Papelbon.
Seth Smith made a bid for his 11th home run of the season, but center fielder Darnell McDonald made a catch against the wall. Papelbon retired Miguel Olivo on a fly ball to send the game to extras.
Marco Scutaro reached on an infield single with one out in the 10th. After Daniel Nava flied out, Pedroia hammered the second pitch he saw from Huston Street (0-1) to the seats in left.
Papelbon fared much better in the 10th as he retired the side in order.
The first inning could have been a lot worse for returning starter Daisuke Matsuzaka, who failed to retire any of the first five batters he faced. Jonathan Herrera got things started with a single and consecutive walks by Helton and Gonzalez loaded the bases.
Following a coaching visit to the mound, Hawpe hit a chopper over a leaping Adrian Beltre at third base to bring home a pair. After Smith drew a walk to reload the bags, Matsuzaka set down three in a row, limiting the damage to two runs.
Matsuzaka had been on the disabled list since June 12, when he was scratched from a start against Philadelphia after straining his right forearm while warming up.
Pedroia homered to left field leading off the fourth, snapping starter Jason Hammel's scoreless streak at 28 1/3 innings. David Ortiz singled and Beltre doubled before Mike Cameron put the Red Sox on top with a two-run double. A two-out single by Matsuzaka plated Cameron to make it 4-2.
After Beltre hit a two-run homer in the fifth, the Rockies moved ahead with six runs in the sixth on RBI singles by Helton, Olivo, Ian Stewart and Clint Barmes.
Boston quickly responded in the top of the seventh. Beltre grounded an RBI single and Jason Varitek stroked a two-run double off Manuel Corpas to give the visitors a 9-8 lead.
Game Notes
It was the first three-homer game of Pedroia's career...Matsuzaka gave up two runs on five hits, walked four and struck out six in five innings...The Red Sox placed third baseman Mike Lowell on the 15-day DL with a strained right hip to make room for Matsuzaka...Hammel allowed four runs on seven hits over four innings.
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Albert Pujols to be This Year's Home Run Champ Says Online Sportsbook
Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds. The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.
Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.
Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).
Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.
World Series odds
Adam Dunn 15-1
Albert Pujols 5-1
Alex Rodriguez 12-1
Alfonso Soriano 15-1
Andruw Jones 25-1
Barry Bonds 50-1
Carlos Delgado 40-1
David Ortiz 8-1
Jermaine Dye 40-1
Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1
Lance Berkman 40-1
Manny Ramirez 20-1
Richie Sexson 40-1
Ryan Howard 6-1
Travis Hafner 20-1
Vladimir Guerrero 40-1
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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.
Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.
Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.
Memphis vs. Ohio State
Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.
UCLA vs. Kansas
In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.
With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action. Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”. By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.
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